Crossing the Void
by thebladeofchaos
Summary: Life always hold surprises for you, no matter how much you may live through or how much you may have seen, there is always something more. I can't explain a majority of what went on during the years...but what I do know is this. We are not slaves to destiny. Nothing is set in stone.
1. The End where I begin

I need to stop doing things on a whim...seriously. This is getting to be annoying to myself, not sure about anyone else. But I get ideas and they keep bothering me until I get them actually dealt with and sorted out and such. That and as it works out perfectly in the in game story, it'll give me an easy time to work with it.

So yes, I writing this now...and I have an idea of where to take this...and I know what I'm going to do with it. So, without further ado...OK, at the time of writing this, I have no idea what to name it. So yeah. Let's see what happens.

Oh, by the way. I'm not going to name the chapters after the chapter names in game. Chapter 1 here won't be chapter 1 in game. It's how I normally deal with things like this that have in game chapters. And there will be one other thing.

Do note though, this is long for a prologue...even by my standards. It's going to be more then one chapter. I don't know how much exactly, but considering the main game starts at Southtown, that's when chapter 1 will officially start.

_Prologue I_

_The end where I begin_

I was running towards a dark throne in an equally sullen and dark room, fancily dressed and set with a formal royal carpet leading the route up to the throne itself, mysterious emblems set up on banners hanging from flagpoles. I was in a dark cloak, covering all of my person, a section of the pommel of my blade banging against my side with a thick leather tome in my hand.

I was running towards the throne as fast as my legs could carry me, my leather boots giving off a light patter as I took each step.

I heard another person, seeing a young man holding a silver sword with a gold inlay, a hole in the blade near the hilt. The man himself had short neat blue hair around his clean face. He was just taller then me, wearing blue leather, having 3 sets of bronze straps around his body, one holding a sheathe on his thigh, the other two securing his long white cape and a steel arm guard. He wore plate mail on his lower body, with his sword hand uncovered save for a gauntlet, with a tattoo of something near the shoulder on the outer side of his arm. He was clutching his sword in both of his hands.

He overtook me, yelling at the top of his lungs, holding his blade ready to strike. I slowed down, letting him begin things as I peeled off. He ran at a dark figure, swinging his blade, only to be dodged. Both were so fast as I could only see a flurry of sword swings and electric currents dispersing as the apparent mage brushed the sword off, both giving a cry of frustration as they fought.

I walked around, trying to find an opening, holding my left hand up and producing a fireball in it. The mage threw his hand down as the fighter jumped back, a massive black fireball crashing down barely after the guy rolled under it, taking a quick swing as he got close enough. The mage disappeared, the swordsman looking up, then to me.

"UP THERE!" he shouted. My eyes shot up, seeing the mage throwing another black fireball down from the ceiling, this time towards me. I gasped, turning around and dashing away, the shockwave from the blast throwing me away from it in a white haze. I swung around in the air, throwing the fireball at him, rolling as I hit the ground and recovering. I watched as the fireball hit the ceiling, a blue outline of the mage slowly dissipated. I looked back down quickly, hearing the mage shouting 'you fool!' or something at me.

I looked at my apparent ally, seeing him raising his sword again. Suddenly a bolt of lightning hit him, throwing him against a wall, dust flying up around the swordsman. I almost called his name, lifting a hand up before I saw him recovering, slowly and unsteadily starting to lift himself up with his sword.

I looked to the throne after hearing what I can only describe as electricity pulsing. I saw the mage readying another black fireball, laughing as he prepared to hit my ally with it. I gasped, swinging another fireball out as he threw his, both of them colliding in the air and exploding in a blinding flash of light. I only just noticed how heavily I was breathing, Putting a hand on my chest and slump forward slightly. My ally charged over to me, putting my arm over his back and supporting me. He was as worn out as I was, if not more.

"Come on...keep it together" He told me. I looked over, seeing the mage we were fighting. He was looking over at us two, giving us a leer and laughing as he saw how worn out we were. The only real way I can describe this guy was dark. Dark skin, dark robes, black hair, the works. "Have you got Tiberium?"

"It's sheathed up...might be wise right about now" I replied. I grabbed my sword, drawing it slowly and holding it tightly. It felt light...I didn't look any further at it. Would have been nice to know what this thing is. "I don't think...I can keep this up..."

"You've done...a lot more then this..." He patted my side, both of us finally having the strength to stand on our own. "You not alone, Dark. You're one of us, and never forget that" He took his stance once more, and I held the blade low in front of me, standing side on.

"Let's make this count"

My ally charged forward, and I followed his lead, both of us shouting as the mage threw another spell at us, barely missing us both and smashing the wall behind us. The swordsman got into range, jumping forward and slamming his sword down at the mage, the mage stepping back as the sword hit the ground. The swordsman followed up, swinging the blade up, getting shrugged off by another lightning hand, then getting punched back by it.

I got to the fight, swinging my blade low to try and cut at his legs, the mage letting his tome go to bring the electricity to his other hand, grabbing the blade of my sword and yanking it out of my hand, throwing it behind him as I somehow managed to summon ice around my arm, the end sharpened to a killer point as I tried to punch him.

This time he summoned up fire in his hand, catching the point of my ice and holding it in front of him, barely touching his chest. He gritted his teeth, my arm flaring in agony as some unknown pressure was put on it.

"Good...good...let your rage out" He taunted, his voice low, determined, gravelly. I gritted my teeth, throwing a kick at him with whatever I had left, this time the reaction was worse. He grabbed my leg, electricity pulsing through his hand and now into me. My body erupted in agony and I cried out in pain. The mage just laughed. "This will all be over soon"

"For you it will be!" the swordsman shouted once more.

Next thing I saw was a bloodied blade sticking out of the chest of the mage. His grip on me faded as blood splashed on me. My spells faded, as did his, the blade being quickly withdrawn. We both recoiled, taking a few paces back away from one another. My ally quickly ran over to me, supporting me as I nearly fell over. The mage burning in a weird blue fire, falling to his knees as he reached out to us one last time.

We gave him a good distance as the fire burnt, the swordman letting me go as we both started recovering from the fight. We watched him burn for a short period, making sure that it was over.

My ally looked at me, relieved and smiling as he sheathed his blade. I looked at him, giving him a smile back.

"This isn't over..." The mage commented, his voice faded and almost non-existent. "Damn you both!"

The mage shot back up to life, quickly throwing another fireball. I gasped as it flew to my ally, throwing my arm out and pushing him out of the way, shoving him to the floor as the fireball hit me.

I must have whited out at this point, as the next thing I knew I was on the floor, pain coursing through my body from the flames. It can't have been that long. My ally ran over to me as I laid on my side.

"Dark!" He cried, running over to me and cradling my head. "Are you all right?" I couldn't answer, only nodding as I answered. "May as well give me an answer"

"I've...been worse..." I managed to fight out a reply. "Is that it?"

"That's the end of him" He spoke. "Looks like we did it" I turned my head, seeing the body now burning itself out. The swordsman turned to me again. "Thanks to you we carried the day"

"Wasn't me alone mate" Mate...that's what I always call him. I don't even know his name.

"We can rest easy now" I looked away as I started the chore of getting back up. "At long last..."

The same thing happens every time at this point...the red pulses in front of my eyes, the paralysing pain, even though I can still move. I pick myself up slowly as my friend gave me a hand. The pain pulses, almost blinding me as the world turns red. When I get to my feet, my friend turns, seeing my face and changing from his smile to a worried look.

"Hey, are you OK?" something happens with my hand beyond my control. "Stay with us" He begs. Something happening in my hand still. "Dark, hang o-"

He never finishes the sentence as I thrust my hand at his chest, his eyes losing their focus. He lets me go, backing up and holding his chest, a spear of lightning in it, puncturing all the way through it. I raise my hand, looking at it and seeing the sparks ricocheting around it. His breath is laboured, trying his best to keep standing, terror gripping me.

"This is not your fault..." He speaks, swallowing several times. The red mist faded at this point. "Promise me..." I put my hands on his shoulders.

"Stay with me" I beg. He swallows again.

"Promise me...that you'll escape from this place..."

"I'm only leaving if you do as well" His left leg lost it's strength, and I went down with him. "Stay with me!"

"...I'm sorry...Dark" He wheezes out, crashing down to the floor. I stand up slowly, shaking my head as I back up.

"No...no" I hear a laugh in the background from the mage again, starting to just walk over to where my sword was thrown. "I'm not done yet..."

BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP.

_In the past I got told something by a sailor...just randomly really._

_There's the calm before the storm...you need to enjoy it while it lasts_

_because when that storm hits...that's it..._

_you're in for the ride of your life..._

Damn alarm. I wake up slowly, my eyes adjusting to the sunlight blazing in through the window at JUST the right damn angle to blind me. I cover my eyes whilst my other hand scrambles for the mobile phone, mentally cursing myself for setting the blighter up in the first place. Why did it always have to when I have bad nights that it decides to be really chirpy? I shook my head, checking the time...too fricken' early in the morning...at 9am...wait a sec...wasn't there something I needed to-

"CRAP! LESSONS!"

Yeah...so, let me give you a quick run down for those who aren't aware, which I'm pretty much sure is everyone actually listening to me. My name is Craig. I'm 20 years old and a Uni Student at Derby (who runs late every so often because of alarm problems) I'm...decently tall, brown short hair and a guy (if you couldn't tell by the fact that I don't normally describe myself.) and generally fit enough to hold my own, thank god at the moment considering I'm running full pelt. Right now I'm wearing a leather jacket (seems to be my trademark) over a white polo shirt and dark jeans and boots. Though I don't wear them as much as I used to. Shame really as they are nice boots.

As I'm running with my bag on my back, hoping that I don't end up too late for lectures, ducking, dodging and diving my way between people heading back from earlier lectures, not to mention the odd hellos and maybe a shuttle bus.

I was about halfway there, running down a route with no one on it, but not looking where I was going. I saw a guy fishing in the pond of all things, his dog nearby enjoying the spring sun. I couldn't help but smile at this point.

Well, until I bumped into something soft.

I heard a soft moan, followed by a panicked 'whoa' then finding myself falling to the ground face first. I landed on something soft, only lightly groaning, but someone else gave a louder one. I raised my head slightly, shaking it before looking at what had become my mattress, so to speak.

How exactly to explain this to them is going to be- wha?

OK, right now...I will have to apologise to her.

It was a young woman, roughly my age. No marks on her face at all, with silver eyes...I presume she's wearing those contacts that change your Iris colour, quite tall, around my height, with red hair going curling around her head, covering her left eye. She was wearing a black...almost cloak with weird symbols running down the sides. The cloak covered just about everything apart from her legs, these by leather trousers. She also has a book hanging from her waist, a thick leather bound tome.

"Sorry" I spoke, lifting myself up quickly and offering my hand for her. "Need to look where I'm running" She took my hand with a gloved one of hers, shaking her head as she pulled herself up. She looked at me for a bit, as I had done with her.

"Don't worry...I've been a mile away myself" she replied, taking everything of me in, even more intently then a normal woman would in the situation. Her face suddenly changed at a point, putting a finger quizzically to her chin. Her voice was soft, almost too calm for anyone "Sorry, have we met? I feel like I know you" huh? That came from nowhere. "It's erm...Elias?" I shook my head.

"I'm sorry Miss, but I don't think we have...Elias isn't my name either" I scratched my head, thinking that this was going no-oh crap. "Oh jeez, gotta run" I started running again, turning to her as I left. "Nice to bump into you Miss!"

She half laughed at this, waving me off before I left.

_Running late...something I needed to work on._

_But considering how things normally worked out, I'd be fine._

_The thing is...I often worked out a plan to get around this._

_Not like it was going to get me killed if it went wrong..._

OK, these won't keep dragging on, I promise, it'll be a small number of these, but there's a reason for it. Heck, the story doesn't really begin until we're in Ylisse right?

…...right?


	2. Missing the point

So, with number 2, let's see if this was worth it. Yes, as soon as I get to Ylisse, it'll be the traditional chapter one and such.

Anyway, without much more ado...and I think maybe a title whenever this goes up. I don't know yet, but something will come up...I hope...

_Prologue 2_

_Missing the point_

_I never had to think of anything really big before...aside from my reading._

_Seems that everything else wanted me to actually think about that._

_Everything conspired...to make me act_

_if Fate were a person...I'd enjoy strangling it..._

Lessons had finished up for me for the day thankfully. Annoyingly however, the class was kept in until nightfall, which was pretty late by anyone's standards. I somehow got outside, yawning as I realised I was done and worn out.

The night air was cool, calm, almost enjoyable as I pulled a drink bottle from my pocket, opening the thing up and cracking my neck. The skies were clear, with stars clear for a good distance. The rest of the university students were filing out, either walking, grabbing a bus or heading to the car park.

As for me, I just waited for a bit, keeping an eye on the skies, relaxing and wondering what I was going to do. It was late enough that I'd pretty much be stuck alone for the evening when the flatmates are out. Too early for bed so...

"Seems you do a lot" I heard someone speak. I blinked twice as I turned, taking a quick swig of my drink and seeing a woman leaning against a wall. Oddly familiar, but I didn't know her name.

"You again?" I asked. She nodded, walking over to me. "Didn't realise I left that much of a mark" She half chuckled at this point, shaking her head.

"Well, bumping into someone who seems familiar...in my eyes it means something" She replied, doing a small bow. "But apologies, I owe you my name and you owe me yours" She had a point there.

"Craig Appleby" I held my hand out. "You would be..." she shook my hand, but paused for a bit in her response.

"Ruby..." she replied, giving me a wink. "Ruby Hanesta" Hanesta...well that's...Exotic. Ruby's a beautiful name though. "Apologies for calling you Elias earlier"

"Forget it. I'd probably do the same in the situation..." She is good looking...maybe I could bring her home... Oh like I would. She's out my league either way. "So...what can I do for you Miss Hanesta?"

"Ruby, please. And...it's a long story" She started walking down the path. "Come on...I'll explain as we walk" I raised an eyebrow as she paused, turning to me. "What?"

"I've known you the space of 15 seconds, and you want me to just follow you right now?" She nodded. "And I'm expected to trust you, because..." She shrugged.

"Honestly, I'm not giving you a reason...I just have a feeling you will" She turned, walking away once more, her arms behind her back. "Besides, walking with a cute girl like me...should be a bonus for you" I wouldn't say cute. Good looking, yes, but cute...arguable.

I sighed, shaking my head and just going over the options quickly. It would burn off a couple of hours at least. And who knows, it might actually be worth something. And what else am I actually going to be doing tonight, sit around playing games or doing work. Who the hell knows really.

"Damn it Craig...you're going to kill yourself doing this one day" I said to myself, walking after the girl, leaving the university grounds and heading down the road. This had better be worth it.

Let me make something...clear right now. I can't really get anywhere with girls. Most I get is friends, and then you don't really get one to one moments like this. I looked Ruby up and down, taking in her clothes again. They didn't look...normal. I mean, granted, they were unique so that wouldn't blend in, but...I don't know. They're too fancy to be replica plates and just your average leather, but not fancy enough to be the real deal. And that tome didn't look like it was for show.

We were heading towards the city centre, heading by numerous party goers and indeed the guys who want takeaways and such. We were both following the trend, if a little slower then the rest. Ruby was looking up and down at the establishments we passed, almost in an all too curious manner.

Eventually, we stopped at a back alley, Ruby looking around as we stopped. I raised an eyebrow, noting exactly where we were. A shop and a chippy were next to us, with a club over the road, so we were on the outskirts of the party if that makes any sense. The club music was clearly evident, hell, I could attempt to name the songs.

The thing is...I know Ruby wasn't bringing me out here just to go partying. Something else was afoot. She threw her cape up as she turned down the alley.

"First things first" she spoke, disappearing into the shadows. "If your anything like Elias, you'll need these" I shook my head.

"Ruby, I don't even know who the hell Elias is. Care to fill me in?" I moaned.

"He's my partner" Oh, well, that sunk that boat. "Sadly I lost track of him, but that's no matter right now as I'm sure you can fit the part" a comasoama? Someone just tell me what she is talking about.

"O...K..." whatever else am I meant to say? 'oh that makes perfect sense Missy, shall we also go to Hogwarts?'

"So far him and I have had a few...issues during our...travels" She soon reappeared, carrying something in her hand. "So I'm having to make a few alterations to the plan I had" plan? What the hell are you on about? "Catch"

She threw something long and thin towards me, and instinctively I caught it, only just managing to see it in the street light. It was a sword sheath...European style for a longsword, even holding the blade. I pulled on the sheath, seeing the blade inside. Why was she giving me this? I re-sheathed it, shaking my head.

"OK...yeah...Miss, I'm going to say your a little mental about now" I told her. She threw her cloak up, grabbing the longsword inside and unsheathing it, her's looking a lot fancier then mine. "Although you don't look insane"

"Tonight's the night Craig" She spoke, stepping out into the street and looking up. "Any...time...now"

She pointed to the skies, looking serious as all hell. I followed where she was pointing, raising an eyebrow. There was...nothing. I saw a plane go over head, people looking at us in the street commenting on how we looked mental and/or really good cosplayers. If I'm cosplaying in a leather jacket then it's something new for me.

And then...the most weird thing happens that you can possibly imagine...

A giant white eye outline appears in the sky over the city. I gasped, backing up slightly from fear, but got a hand put on my back. It just...sat there...watching us. A massive pure white outline of an eye, eclipsing everything in the sky around it.

And then...a massive purple eye opened with in. I guess that makes the White the outline and the purple...yeah. Makes sense when you thi- why am I thinking about this now? I can see a load of black dots on it, each one falling like tears from it.

"And so it begins" Ruby spoke. I looked at her, seeing her crack her neck. "Whatever happens tonight, know this: if you want to keep this place safe, you must slay as many of them as you can" I turned to Ruby wondering what the hell she was talking about.

Suddenly, a dull thud resounded around me, coming from behind. I quickly turned to it, seeing a figure crouched low, wearing what I can only describe as old medieval leather. You know the type, brown, taut, military style. Hell, he was even holding an axe in his hand.

"Stand here" Ruby told me, stepping in front of me, spinning her sword in her hand. "Let me show you how it's done" Do I even want to know how it's done right now? She stood between me and the...thing, taking a two handed stance, even though her sword wasn't long enough for it.

The creature...yeah, I've given up on trying to think of a name for it, it's not human. It slowly lifts up it's head, looking almost exactly like a human, with dark skin and...weird...glowing...eyes? OK, that ain't right, I don't care who that is. Ruby shifts her stance, holding the blade near her shoulder, pointing the end towards the...thing. Terror was still coursing through me, but Ruby...she looked as cool as ice.

It started to run at her, Ruby counter charging after shouting something like 'Avanti', both running as fast as they could. The thing swung it's axe over it's head, Ruby swinging her blade to block the swing, a clatter of steel on steel resounding around us. At this point...I'd have probably frozen, unable to think of what to do.

Ruby just smiled, knocking the blade up and jumping back, the axe coming back down in front of her. She charged back forwards, planting a foot on the shaft of the axe, running along it before jumping, running the blade through the creature's skull. She landed the other side, quickly spinning around and swinging the blade through the thing another 5 times, too quick for me to see. All I knew was that the creature ended up with a multitude of wounds through it, cutting through to the other side.

It looked at me, charging towards me even though it looked like it was pretty much dead. I heard a growl coming from it, then seeing it charge too fast towards me. My eyes shot open wide, my legs freezing in place, even though I wanted to flee. I dropped the sword, hearing it clatter to the ground a few times.

And all I did...was put my arms over my head and kneel down. Not my finest hour, I'll admit. I did my best not to look at it, only hearing it running at me. It growled extremely close to me.

"Craig!" Ruby yelled. I heard another few shrill sounds, the growling ceasing, only replaced by people screaming in the distance. I slowly opened my eyes, seeing the thing just looking at me. I was shaking so much it was hard to tell if it was moving at all.

The glow from it's eyes faded, it's grip on the axe going as it fell to the ground. It eventually decided it had been here long enough, falling to the ground, the axe clattering as it did so. Ruby was stood there, holding her sword in a stance like a Samurai had just taken a swing. She move back to her old position, swinging her sword down before holding a hand out for me.

"It all happens tonight Craig" She told me, now the sounds of the rest of the city screaming in panic. Those...things must have been attacking people everywhere. "Stick with me...I'll get you to safety" I looked at her, seeing her looking too calm right now.

"Why me?" I asked her, still untrusting of her considering. She sighed, shaking her head.

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you" She replied. That doesn't help at all. "Right now, my job is simple: keep you safe. And if it takes me the whole of tonight, that's what I will damn well do" She bent down to my level, taking her hand and placing it against her knee. "I know that you have a fondness for the tales of knights, of swords and cavalry" wait...how does she...I looked at her, confusion reigning in my fear.

"Who are you?" I ask her again. She smiles, giving me a wink.

"I told you...my name is Ruby" She gave a small chuckle at this point. "If you pick up the sword and fight, I promise I will protect you...you could get some good practise in at the same time" practise? NO, what I need is a psychotherapist. Or failing that, a mental asylum.

I paused, looking at her and her too calm demeanour. She was too calm...too cool about all this. I was expected to put my life in her hands, to just...give her everything I had at this moment and throw in my lot. Something fucking weird was going on, that much was certain, but how did I know she wasn't behind it, that she wasn't doing this?

Why am I even asking this? Giant eyes don't open in the sky, dropping...minions down to wreak havoc where they see fit. Swords don't become the god given weapon to slay anything in an age of guns. And mysterious girls who are, granted very good looking, suddenly know a lot about me when we didn't know of each other this frickin' morning. Or maybe that's just me. I hope it's not just me.

Not just me? Thank you.

But...saying that...what other choice did I really have? She lowered her hand, reaching for the sword she had given me earlier and grabbing it, lifting it up and examining it quickly. For what I really didn't see when I first had it...it was a very simple hilt. Weird when I thought about it. She closed her eyes and nodded, throwing the whole thing up and letting it spin in the air before catching it, sheath first, pointing the pommel at me.

"Take your fate in your own hands" She told me. I looked down to one side, quickly thinking things through, and then making my decision.

"Not like I have much of a choice" I spoke, reaching out and grabbing the sword, taking it out of the sheath and taking a tight grip with it. I stood up as well, playing a bit with my grip of it, making sure it was comfortable in my hand. Ruby stood up, looking me up and down before putting a hand on her chin, smiling.

"So...I know where we will be safe...:" She told me, flipping her sword in her hand. "That will be the best place for you to go right now...and it just so happens to fit with my plan" I put the sheathe under my belt, sighing.

"Why don't I like the sound of that?"

"Oh, relax, you'll be fine" easy for you to say. You've probably done this before. And if not then your a total badass. "I've got your back...and for what it's worth, I'm legendary with this stuff" Should I even ask?

"Well, to get it over and done with...let's get going" I say to her. She nods, turning around and jogging away. I put the sword over my shoulder, jogging after her.

_I had no idea what was really going on...don't think I really wanted to._

_All I really knew was that things were going to hell in a hand basket._

_The mysterious Ruby guiding me through this war zone of pain and death..._

_seemed she was the only one who could help me right about now..._

_someone I didn't know being my last hope. Never been there before._

Not much left, I swear.


	3. Finally hits

Pretty sure this will be the last one, if not it's close to it. This is meant to be something different, and to be honest, it's fun trying to think of ideas of where to take this. Besides, no one really knows what the tactician was before Chrom met them, aside from what we learn from the Grimleal, and then there's a lot of interim.

But moving on

_Prologue 3_

_Finally hits_

_That had to be the worst night of my life...kind of a given considering_

_things had gone in a weird direction...again, a given_

_but at that time, it was literally not me thinking_

_I was just doing..._

The night air still swam with screams of fear as we made our way through the streets. Bodies were strewn about with wounds of various types, but the common trend being bladed injuries. Some buildings had started burning from some odd source, most likely people running in fear from the monsters. Cars had crashed, leaving behind wrecks with smashed glass or dead bodies inside. Street lights were broken in the street, with the nearby light being from flames.

I was fighting an urge to vomit, walking through puddles of blood and stepping on corpses. Ruby was acting as if it were a normal day, just stepping on stones or sand. She was agile, barely slipping on anything, whereas I was fighting tripping every few seconds.

She knew where she was going though. Every step was filled with purpose, determination, grace. I was basically following like a sheep. She moved around the area, following streets I hadn't heard of, and I've been here about a year. Hell, we passed some streets I knew, but at points, I was seeing landmarks that I couldn't name...heck I'd never seen them at all.

We got to a point where the bodies and ruin just...stopped. There was this invisible line where people just didn't seem to have died in. Ruby reached a hand into her cloak, pulling out the tome as she kept going, flicking through some pages as I climbed over the same body.

"We're about there...at just the right time" She commented. I looked at her, seeing her pointing to something in the book. "And we've been lucky"

"Lucky how?" I asked her. My foot slipped as I put it down, falling face first on top of the body. I hit the ground hard, my eyes closed as the sword clattered. I shook my head quickly, trying to recover.

I then opened my eyes...

Biggest mistake I ever could make.

I got a close up of a dead guy...he looked around 20, his hair was blond, very short, with a face to match really...his eyes were dull, no life at all. I could feel the warm blood sticking to my chest through my shirt. I froze once more, terror flowing again. Ruby said something else, but I didn't hear it.

I don't know how long passed, but it felt like forever before Ruby dragged me off him, lifting me up and looking me in the eyes. She said something else, I even saw the mouth move. I didn't hear it. I felt her hand on my shoulder, but there was something else I felt more. She said something else, looking concerned.

"Give me a minute" I told her quickly, dropping my sword as I ran off to one side, trying to find a bin or something...anything.

I don't think I need to repeat exactly what happened. Suffice to say I lost my lunch in a bin. It took a good minute for me to get anywhere near recovered. Ruby standing the other side of an archway, not looking at me as I got the business out the way. Heck, I think she laughed at some point. I eventually closed the lid, leaning against the bin for a bit as I breathed.

"Well, that was entertaining" Ruby spoke. I turned my head towards her, seeing her clapping. "Gonna be honest, haven't seen anyone throw up that badly" I coughed, shaking my head.

"Don't know...where the hell your from" I said to her, putting a hand in front of my mouth as I burped, worried it'd be worse. "But death...isn't exactly normal...in public"

"Yeah, well, you've seen how I act" She picked my sword up from somewhere, flipping it in the air before holding the blade for me. "I'll let you off, being green and all"

"Ha ha" insert sarcasm here. I swallowed once more, shaking my head as I turned to Ruby. "How far do we have to go?"

"Next street there's a church. That's where we're going" I swung my bag off of my back, reaching in and grabbing a drink. "Leave the bag here. You're not going to need it" I take a quick swig, raising an eyebrow.

"Why not?"

"It'll slow you down, and if someone were to grab it, you're vulnerable" I sighed, shaking my head and just leaving the bag on the ground. "Trust me, it'll be worth it"

"Yeah, well, maybe you can explain things to me before we move on" She chuckled, throwing the sword to me.

"Explanations can come later. What do you think I am? A Shepard?" Must be some weird sheep in your flock. "Just...bare with me, please. I will explain it all, but not right now"

"Gonna need more then that" I flipped the sword so that I wasn't holding it backwards. "How do I know your trying to save me...apart from the obvious saving me from the monster" She gave me an odd look, before sighing.

"Alright. You want more then now? Fair enough, Should've seen it coming" She crossed her arms, keeping the sword and tome in hand. "The best I can explain right now is that is whole event isn't natural" You don't say! "I've been praying to Naga that it wouldn't happen...but it seems she didn't answer" Naga? Sea witch? Not going to help us on land. "None of this will make any sense here. Nor do we have the time nor the safety to be able to sit down and explain it all" I looked down to one side, knowing that this didn't give me ANYTHING at all. My head said don't trust her.

My heart...she saved my life before...and she seemed to know me...I could put it down to one question.

"Just tell me one thing before we move on" I said to her. She nodded, crossing her arms. "Why me? Why not a lot of other people?" She chuckled.

"Knew that one was coming" She replied, uncrossing her arms. "Like I said, you looked familiar...that and I'm pretty sure you don't want to be dying here" point taken. "If I'm honest...I don't have a reason to pick you over the, nearly thousands living in this place. I could have picked a few people around where I met you" I raised an eyebrow, slowly walking closer to her.

"So why me over them?" I stopped, crossing my arms. "I'm sure I wasn't the first you saw" She nodded.

"I believe in fate" She turned away, starting to walk away. "You just happened to be late...just happened to bump into me, and just happened to have a late evening..." how the hell does she...never mind. It makes sense to me. "Now come on...we've got to get to that church"

I didn't really want to argue at this point. Things had gotten to the point where I knew it'd just go around in circles. She didn't want to answer anything...and all I knew of her was that she was mysterious. She seemed to know everything about me. I had to trust her though, nothing in me had a say this way or that, I couldn't trust her, but I couldn't not trust if that makes any sense.

We walked down an alleyway, slowly and ready to fight, keeping in the shadows. Ruby stopped me at the edge of the building, holding her hand out. She looked a lot more concerned at this point, and I looked between her gaze and the other end of the street.

More of them...doing some weird patrol pattern. Considering these things seem to be brainless, they sure know how to do that. There's about five of them...and I was worried about just one. I sighed, shaking my head. four to the right, one to the left. Ruby seemed to look them all over, smiling as she finished.

"I'll handle the group, you take the loner" She told me. I looked over to the one on his own, seeing him shambling around. "I'll meet you outside after" She charged off at this point, holding her free hand up as she did so. What, is she going to slap them down?

Next thing I saw, she threw her hand out...and instead of what I'd presumed was knives or something at least lethal...she threw a lightning bolt. No, I'm seriously, it was as loud as the blighter as well, flying at one of the creatures, electricity flowing through him as she shuddered, falling to the ground slowly.

….no way did that just happen. Magic? What is this, Lovecraftian lore?

I shook my head, turning to the loner who was, in turn, turning to the group. Ruby could apparently handle herself. I needed to handle this one. I quickly shot out of the alley, running at the creature, holding my sword ready. The creature saw me, growling before swinging it's axe around, ready for me.

It took the first move, swinging low at my legs. I jumped over it, swinging my blade, somehow managing to get a clean strike into it's chest, the blade sticking at the middle. It wasn't the best strike in the world, but I followed by pushing the blade in deeper and twisting it. I half smiled, looking at it's face, seeing it still moving.

It grabbed my arm, holding me in as it moved it's arm to swing again. I brought my free hand up, grabbing the shaft of the axe and holding it as best I could, gritting my teeth as I tried to free my arm at the same time. The strength this thing had was immense. Right now it was looking like David and Goliath.

I heard another lightning bolt behind me, ignoring Ruby as I fought with my opponent. Now I was up close to him, I got a better idea of what he was like. He stank like a corpse that had decayed for days, if that short. His hand felt as though it had rotted slightly, and his insides through the sword felt...hard...oddly. I knew internal organs were soft normally, bones were hard, but if he had decayed...what I was swinging into should have been chest cavity really.

I put everything I had into my hand on the axe, trying to divert it to one side, hoping it'd miss me entirely. The creature kept growling, forcing the axe to lower to me. Adrenaline course through me as I fought. Only problem was...a somewhat stupid idea came to mind.

I threw a kick to his crotch, then slamming the sole of my boot down onto his chest. He groaned after both, recoiling upon being shoved back. He let my arm go, and I let his axe fall to the side of me, following quickly up by swinging my blade once more, cutting through his skull. Purple blood flew through the air as I swung out, then the beast crying out in I presumed agony. I jumped back, seeing what it was going to do before I decided a course of action myself.

I heard another bolt as the beast charged me once more, swinging it's axe over it's head at me. I brought my blade up, doing what I could to divert the blow away from me, enjoying the sound of steel on steel as it worked, but groaning at the pain as my wrist twisted unexpectedly. Remind me to block with two hands if I ever do this again.

His axe stuck in the stone next to me, giving me a perfect opening to counter. I moved quickly, bringing my foot down onto the axe shaft, swinging at the creature's arm, watching as blood flew across the pavement. I followed this up quickly, swinging at it's chest once more, then quickly going for it's head.

It groaned once more, this time letting the axe go and falling slowly to the ground. I watched it fall, making sure it was dead. It hit the ground with a shuddering thud, and then...it's hard to explain...it burst into flames...like...dark blue fire as it faded to nothing but ash blowing in the wind. I heard another bolt of lightning coming from Ruby, but I didn't move, still looking where the guy had fallen.

"I...did it?" I asked myself, unable to believe that I had just killed something. I put the sword away, looking at my hands in disbelief. "That...was..."

"You've got a lot more skill then you know Craig" Ruby spoke, putting a hand on my shoulder. "Come on...We've got a lot to do"

"What do you mean?" I turned to her, breathing. "What are you talking about?"

"Come with me...it'll make sense" She took her hand off me. I turned, watching her walk towards a building. "And I'll keep you safe"

Who was I to really question it at this point? As she opened an old wooden door slowly to the weirdly foreboding dark structure. I looked at her as she stood there, waiting for me. At this point...it was my choice...to do or to not. And to be fair staying in her company might not be bad. I could learn more about her and what the hell is going on here.

I sighed, brushing the hair from my face, what little bit there was, and followed her...she closed the door behind us, locking it as well as I got a quick look around. There was no light source...but I could see everything. It was literally a room with stone bricks...everywhere...you know how the matrix is basically a white room. Take that and make it stone bricks...well, save for a large wooden door.. I raised an eyebrow, looking at Ruby.

"This is your idea of Safety?" I asked her. She shook her head.

"Safety lies through that door" She told me, putting her sword away. "I can only open it for me...if you want to go through, you have to open it yourself" How the hell does this work? "Call it magic or whatever" convenience?

"What do you mean?" she started walking over to it, sighing shallowly.

"I can go through it if I want...but I can't force you to open it if you don't want to...literally. ancient magic at play and all that...hell this street doesn't exist to most common people" She sighed again. "Sometimes I hate stuff like this" I looked at the door, running my hand up and down it, making sure it was real. "That's where your safety is...I can't promise it either way, but this is safer then out there. Not to mention the fact that staying here is a death sentence" I turned to her at this point.

"You didn't tell me that before"

"Somethings you don't want to know..." I sighed, shaking my head.

"At the very least...will I be able to come back?" I asked, turning to her. "You got here...will I be able to come back?" She shrugged.

"I don't know...it took a lot to get here" She was getting worse by the minute. "All I know is that the other side of that door is better then here" I looked at the door once more, sighing again.

I reached for the handle, pulling it open slowly, the hinges creaking loudly as it did so. The door opened to just darkness. I couldn't see a thing either way. This was the gap to who knew where. With hell behind me, was this going to lead to more hell? Ruby was behind me, sighing.

"So you can make the last few steps...are you sure?" She asked. I sighed, shaking my head.

"As I'll ever be" I replied, taking a step forward to the breach.

"So, this is where you've been!" A voice boomed out. Ruby grabbed her sword quickly, causing me to turn around and check. "I was wondering what the brave Ruby had been doing since we last met"

"Craig, get going" Ruby told me. I raised an eyebrow.

"What's goin-"

"JUST GO!" She shoved me through the door, and...well, I was expecting to touch solid ground.

As soon as I crossed the divide...there was nothing. I started falling, with Ruby following close behind...

_I had thought at times...what if I didn't do that..._

_would life be different then what I ended up with?_

_Would things have taken a different turn at any point?_

_I don't know...it's too late to question though..._

Now, if 'I' seem Stuish at this point, there's a reason. you'll see why later on.

anyway, here ends the triple whammy of prologue chapters and trio of uploads. This should be good practise for me along with other things. Hopefully you'll enjoy the tale. I've had it in my head for a while as to what twists I'll throw in.


	4. Lost Identity

Remember when I told you the story would actually begin once we got to Ylisse.

Also is it just me or does the intro foreshadow a lot? In game I mean, when you see Grima and such.

Writing this, I also realise...there's not much leeway in what you can say and do given the story at the early stages.

_Chapter 1_

_Lost Identity_

_I guess Fate was kind to me in some senses._

_To some regard I was safe..._

_safe being something objectively seen._

_And that was when I met him..._

I remember being unable to see anything...no feeling at all...At the very least I knew I wasn't moving, and that in itself was questionable. I couldn't even see myself, no matter how hard I looked or tried to look. I wasn't even sure if I could move to be perfectly honest as I couldn't feel any part of me move when I tried to command it to.

Where was I...who was I?

"Chrom, we can't just do nothing" I heard a young female voice speak, full of concern and worry.

"Well what do you propose we do?" another voice spoke. This one was deep, bold.

"I...I dunno" My eyes opened slowly, the light burning me as I looked up at the bright blue sky. Well, this was a change.

As my eyes adjusted, I saw two figures. The one on the right was the girl, a young woman, short with blond hair tied up in two pigtails with a hair band of sorts, too long for her head considering part of it was dangling down on either side. She was wearing a fancy dress, with white over the upper chest and yellow elsewhere.

The other was a young man...an all too familiar blue haired man, with a white cape. On his right shoulder was the tattoo. The man from my dream...my ally...an all too familiar figure. They both registered that I was finally awake as I groaned a few times, putting a hand over my face to try and blot out the sun from burning my eyes too much.

"I see you're awake now" He told me as I removed my hand from my face. Your telling me buddy.

"Hey there" She simply spoke, giving off a small chuckle at times. Both of them smiled at me, I'm guess thankful that I was all right.

"There are better places to take a nap then on the ground you know" Again, you're telling me. It's comfortable though. Not safe but still, comfortable. He extended a gloved hand towards me, still smiling. "Come on, give me your hand"

Not one to look a gift horse in the mouth, I accepted, my head still spinning as I gave him my right hand, seeing that something was different...the back of my hand had this weird...birthmark on it, almost like a set of eyes. And the scar on my arm from the burn has disappeared. He pulled me to my feet, and I got a good look into his eyes.

As soon as I stood up, I felt unsteady, my balance forcing me to take a few steps back until I recovered. I looked around quickly, seeing that I was in a large field, the grass tall enough to conceal me in them. There were a few trees here and there, quite tranquil if I'm honest. Bit of a big difference between here and the cityscape I had been in before.

"You all right?" The young man asked. I looked at him, seeing another figure behind him. An armoured man, older then the pair with him, with brown hair. He was taller then both me and him. I rubbed my forehead again, nodding a few times before answering.

"Y-yes" I answered...at least I thought I did.

I definitely wanted to say that, but it wasn't my voice. It was higher, more refined...almost womanly. I looked down at myself, trying to make it look like I was slightly dizzy still. I was wearing a lot of leather, with a few plates felt underneath it. My left arm was armoured with steel and had a belt of sorts on it. Around the top of my left leg was a belt of sorts, with a full size one around my mid. My lowers were literally just leather with a few patches missing as if it had been ripped. My right arm had some weird...wrap around it. It looked like leather, but was way too soft to be. Judging on how it looked, I guess that I could take it off and such. Good, the birthmark is an eyesore.

And during this period of Self-examination, I saw what I needed to realise what had happened...Somehow, I was a woman. I had middle of the range size breasts under all this, with a low cut to show the upper part of them. I put a hand on the clothing on the outside, making it look like I was breathing to stabilize. They felt real...this was no joke. To make things even worse, I couldn't feel my member under my lowers. How did...when did I become...this? Chrom gave me an odd look as I did thi- Where did I get that name from? I looked back to the trio, breathing in again.

"Thank you Chrom" I continued, running with it. He smiled.

"Ah, then you know who I am?" He replied. Wait, I got it right? I checked my equipment, finding pockets with a fingerless leather glove to fit my left hand.

"No...actually...erm...it's hard to explain" I started, shaking my head, then rubbing the left side of my face with my left hand to try and think. "Your name...it just kinda...came to me...like I already know you despite...never having heard of you" Chrom raised an eyebrow, but the guy in the background never once changed his expression once. He looked quite cynical about this whole thing. The girl was listening in, with her hands behind her back, seeming to enjoy the conversation. It's interesting, granted.

"...Hmm...how curious" Chrom replied, rubbing his chin. "Tell me...what's your name?" Sounds simple enough...but can I really answer it? Last I knew I was Craig Appleby, but that most certainly doesn't suit a woman. "What brings you here?" That's what I want to know.

"My name is..." my mind raced to try and find an answer as to who I was right now. I wasn't this...Craig, but no other name was coming to mind. "It's..." I scratched my head as I failed to find any answer, sighing. "Hmm?" Chrom raised an eyebrow, looking worried.

"...You don't even know your own name?" I know I'm not this...Craig. He must have just been a dream of mine or something. Was I knocked out by thieves or something? If so why am I suddenly in a grassy field? Should I tell him what I know?

"I'm not sure if..." I paused...if I told him he'd think I'm crazy...maybe just saying I don't know would be best. "No...I'm sorry." I looked around quickly again, looking for any sign posts or something. "Hate to ask, but where exactly am I? This doesn't look familiar"

"Hey" the young girl began, looking at me, then between Chrom and the...knight?. "I've heard of this! It's called Amnesia!" Why did she sound excited when she said that? She even looked proud for knowing that.

"It's called a load of Pegasus dung" the knight finally spoke, waving a hand dismissively. His voice was deep, but refined "We're to believe you remember milord's name, but not your own?" I could answer but...I honestly don't know my name. I can't be this...Craig...or as he dreamed he was, Dark.

"B-but it's the truth" I replied, starting to panic. These may have been the only people in the world who would be kind enough to actually make sure I'm OK...maybe it was going to be the only time people would. Chrom sighed, turning to his knight.

"...what if it IS true, Frederick?" He questioned, the knight turning the the young man. "We can't just leave her here, alone and confused" I quickly reached around behind my head, feeling that I had long hair, quickly moving it so that it went down the side of my neck. It was a shade of dark green which, whilst not exactly normal, seemed completely natural. Chrom turned back to me as he spoke to 'Frederick'. "What sort of Shepherds would we be then?" Shepherds? Not even going to ask at the moment.

"Just the same, milord, I must emphasise caution" Frederick continued, doing a small bow before putting his hands behind his back. "'Twould not do to let a wolf into our flock" Erm...how metaphoric a flock are we talking?

"Right then" Chrom smiled, turning fully to me. "We'll take her back to town and sort this out there" Wait, what? Dude, I'm just wanting directions not to be ordered around.

"Wait, hold on a minute" I replied, holding my hands up. "Don't I get a say in this?" I wasn't going to be taken captive here. He held his hands up as well.

"Peace friend...I promise we'll hear all you have to say back in town" Can't you just give me directions? "Now Come" charming.

He motions for me to follow him, walking away with the girl next to him. I can see the sword from the dream within a dream on the side of his sheath, hidden under the cape. She has a staff of some kind, not exactly ornate, but not a walking stick either. Frederick walks behind me, motioning for me to follow after Chrom and the girl before disappearing behind me. I sighed, shaking my head before walking after them.

How do I get into these messes? I walked across the field, carefully walking across the grass as I tried to avoid stepping on who knows what. The terrain pretty much remained the same for a while, with only a few animals going by to interrupt our scene. The other two stopped at a point, sanding on what I presume is a dirt track. As I got close, they started walking South, and the only choice I had was to follow them. The girl and Chrom were talking to one another, speaking about how I was a weird person to begin with and what mysteries hid under the veil of my lost memories. I looked down, thinking about what exactly had happened, when this could have happened and how.

Don't get me wrong...there's nothing wrong with being a woman, it's just I was born a man last I recall. I have had times when I've wondered, but I've never wanted to try it. I don't get why my memories don't make sense with what is going on now. There is no plausible explanation at all. This doesn't even look anything like a scene from history, so it can't be time travel.

But the biggest thing that made me worry...was what was going to happen to me. I sighed, shaking my head. All of this...crap on me was going to make no difference in a three on one fight. Especially considering I had no weapons. The girl seemed to see me looking sullen, saying something to Chrom before the pair stopped.

"What's wrong?" He asked. Oh nothing. I just don't know who I am, anything about my past and my last memory is me being a guy in a city fighting for my life...nothing really.

"What do you plan to do with me?" I asked, looking up slightly. "Am I...a prisoner of yours?" Chrom laughed at this point, giving me a smile.

"Relax. You'll be free to go once we've established you're no enemy of Ylisse" I raised an eyebrow. Who...was Ylisse...

"Who is Ylisse?" I asked, then realising how dumb I had just sounded by the expression on the duo's visage's. "Wait...you mean we're in Ylisse" Chrom nodded. "Ylisse...doesn't ring a bell" Chrom sighed, the girl shaking her head. I guess they thought they had something there.

"You've never heard of the haildom?" Frederick asked. Haildom? Don't you mean kingdom? Or indeed country. He gave a very condescending laugh at this. "Someone pay this actress. She plays quite the fool!" I looked down once more, sorrow building from the knight. "The furrowed brow is especially convincing..." ever thought it's not to convince, it's to get you to believe that I am...oh I don't know, telling you the truth. Chrom lowered his eyebrows at this point.

"Frederick. Please" Seems I wasn't the only one getting pissed off with him. "This land is known as the Haildom of Ylisse" That...actually kinda helps...well at least I have some idea of where I am. "Our ruler, Emmeryn, is called the exalt" ….not pretentious at all of course, she's just holy. "I suppose proper introductions are in order..." That would have helped, oh I don't know, five minutes ago. Chrom did a small bow. "My name is Chrom...but then you already knew that" he pointed to the girl next to him. "The delicate one here is my little sister, Lissa" Lissa threw he arms up in the air in an angry manner, stamping her feet several times.

"I am NOT delicate!" She yelled, before making a disgruntled 'hmph'. She turned to me, almost smiling, as if she were bipolar, or at least knew it was a joke. "Ignore my brother, please. He can be a bit thick sometimes" Ah, the joys of siblings. "But your lucky the Shepherds found you. Brigands would've been a rude awakening" Something tells me they were the ones that knocked me out. I looked between the trio of them, noticing something out of the ordinary.

"Shepherds? You tend sheep? With full battle gear?" What the hell kind of sheep do they deal with? Dinosaur sheep? Chrom chuckled slightly.

"It's a dangerous job" Again, what kind of sheep? "Just ask Frederick the Wary here" I turned, seeing the knight do a small bow, despite looking annoyed.

"A title I shall wear with pride" He replied. I smiled, guess the pair teased him a lot. Saying that, why was a knight with two...Fully armoured shepherds? "Gods forbid one of us keeps an appropriate level of caution" Can't blame him really. He's looking out for the other two. "I have every wish to trust you stranger-" THEN DO! "-but my station mandates otherwise" I sighed, rubbing my forehead again. Guess he had a point.

"I understand sir. While I know I wish others would trust me as these two have, I would probably do no less myself" I nodded a few times, smiling as I closed my eyes in a sort of happy smile. "My name is Silven"

….Where the absolute hell did that come from? I looked around the trio, seeing the brother and sister smiling, and Frederick looking even more wary of me. Was that my name? Silven...got a nice ring to it at least. Another word sticks out in my mind when I think of my name...Eradora.

"Silven Eradora..." I breathed. I looked up in surprise, amazed that I had just said my name in full without even realising it. "Erm...I just remembered that...weird" Chrom laughed a little at this point. "I guess now we know...that's one mystery about me dealt with" Now to find out the rest of me. At least it confirms that I was in some sort of dream when I was Craig. Chrom looked at me, nodding a few times.

"Silven? Is that foreign?" I'm guessing it must be. "And Eradora...sounds like a noble family" wait what? Chrom crossed his arms, nodding a few times. "...Ah, well. Now that we know that, we can discuss this later" Lissa turned around at this point, looking down the road. "We're almost to town. Once we-" Lissa recoiled.

"Chrom! Look! The Town!" She shouted. We all turned to the town, and I couldn't help but gasp.

Smoke was rising in the distance, a sure sign that something was going wrong. We heard screams as well, faint but there. If it wasn't for this stupid conversation about who I was and what was going on, we might have gotten there sooner. Chrom clenched his fist.

"Damn it! The town is ablaze!" He put a hand towards his sword. "Those blasted brigands, no doubt" He drew his sword, running towards the town. "Frederick, Lissa! Quickly!" Frederick turned behind him, whistling for someone or something. I turned around, seeing an armoured horse running over, the knight quickly mounting up.

"What about her?" Frederick asked, grabbing a lance from the side of the saddle. Chrom turned to him, his brow furrowed in anger.

"Unless she's on fire as well, it can wait!" To be fair, I think the town is more important then me. Frederick nodded.

"Aptly put, milord" I sighed, looking them over.

"Come on, come on! Let's go already!" Lissa shouted, the trio marching away from me towards the town, running as fast as they could to save the place. I reached my hand out as they were leaving.

"But what about-" I started, then stopping as they left earshot. I looked down, unsure of what exactly to do. I couldn't leave them to it alone, not after the kindness they offered me. But I was unarmed. I'd just get in the way.

I looked around, seeing a pair of dead bodies by the side of the road. One was armoured, a soldier by all means. The other...I can only describe it as looking like a witch. I ran over to the bodies, finding a tome and a sword nearby the pair, thankfully clean from the blood staining the grass. I lifted the sword up, checking it over before taking the sheath from the belt of the soldier. It was a weird shape, almost as if it wasn't exactly the best quality, The tome on the other hand had a thick binding, with leather all over. A symbol on the front of a lightning bolt made me think about it.

I strapped the sheath to my belt, picking up the tome and finding a strap on it, tying it quickly to my belt as well. It was free from my leg, but in reach of my hand, and easy enough to lift up. Something in my head just...told me how to use it. I can't really explain it at all, but...it's almost like how I remembered my name or who Chrom was, it just...came to me. Heck, part of me felt like a natural sword user, despite having never touched one as far as I know.

I kept the sword drawn, running after the trio as fast as I could, the dirt road giving way to stony pavement. Wooden buildings were built either side of it, with a simple roof. The centre of town had a church, and I presume that was where everyone was. I heard screams coming from it, charging in, slipping on the stones at the same time. I heard Lissa shouting something in the distance, heading towards it.

"Don't worry- after today, these bandits won't be bothering anyone ever again..." This was definitely Chrom. I turned a corner, seeing the trio ready to fight, weapons at the ready.

"Wait!" I shouted I charged to a space near them, Frederick holding his lance ready to strike until I stopped a good distance away from them. Chrom turned to me, as did Lissa.

"Silven?! You followed us!" He walked over to me, his sword at the ready. "Why?" That's a good question, let me get back to you on that.

"I...Can't really give you a good answer" at the very least, my mind and body knew the motions I had to do. I didn't myself but it would come to me...I hoped. "At the very least, I'm armed and ready for a fight. I can hold my own. Many hands make light work" You try thinking of a way to put it on the spot. Chrom took a second to think, looking away from me to the other two before turning back to me.

"Of course-" He replied, smiling. "Strength in numbers. Don't go to far until you know you can handle yourself" I couldn't help but smile back, nodding as we took a space at the front. Frederick rode up along side me, holding his lance ready.

"Remember, Silven, we face practised thieves and murderers" I nodded, looking over the group. They were all lightly armed and armoured, mostly sword and axe users. "They will grant us no quarter. It's kill of be killed" None expected, none received. Got it. I flipped my sword in my hand, cracking my neck before Chrom lined up alongside me.

"Let's save this town!" Chrom shouted.

_There are times when I think...what if I had left the whole mess there_

_Just let the trio handle the bandits alone...just walk away._

_Sure I would have felt guilty as hell...but it would have been easy._

_Maybe events would have taken a different path._

TADA! Yeah, a twist there. This is one aspect of the 'practise' I was on about, along with a twist. Meet the My Unit, who, yes, is wearing different clothing. Needed an extra unique thing. That and Ruby was wearing the tactician garb. Is that a subtle hint? Maybe, not saying.

By the way, yes, the placement of the weapons was joyfully convenient, it was the only way to have her being unarmed and still armed for the bandits. Also, when it comes to the mystery of her, there will be times when I have to use it as a sort of convenient 'I know how to use this' device. Won't be often, but when it comes to using the spells and indeed magic weapons (Sol as an example) that's how I'll do it.

Hope this is not going to be too bad for you guys after the intro, but it's one way for it to go.


	5. Southtown Skirmish

So, moving this on, to the actual fight. Gonna be skipping over some things at times (like the explanations of the units jobs) but it should be more...life like. (Kinda story breaking to have Virion explain that he can't hit the enemy right next to him until he steps back from them).

Oh, and it's kinda...weird...how restricting the first few chapters are for doing this kinda thing. I get you have to keep the story as is, but considering support convos don't appear until, like...chapter 4...ish, the stories pretty much going to be stuck at doing what happens in game until then. And then I have my time to start diverting.

_Chapter 2:_

_Southtown Skirmish_

_Whenever I think back to that fight...I get one massive thing in my head._

_We fought together as comrades at this point._

_Chrom led the way...we all saw that._

_I didn't know what fate had for my role at this point._

I looked around quickly, trying to gauge the battlefield. There were two near us in the town centre, looting market stalls for anything they could. Two were near the church over the bridge with one by the river. I stepped forward a bit, getting an idea of what I was going to do.

"Where'd you get that sword from Silven?" Chrom asked. I looked at him, seeing him looking at the book which 'just so happened' to be hanging near my rear. "and...wait, is that a tome?" He raised an eyebrow. "You know magic?" I nodded.

"I...believe so? Maybe I should've checked beforehand" I replied. Chrom recoiled a bit.

"You 'believe' so?" He stepped away a bit. "Perhaps I'll just keep a few paces behind you for the time being..." might be wise. Don't want to catch him in the cross fire of my magic. I breathed, looking away and lifting the tome up.

"No. I can control it. I'm positive" I opened the book, seeing a few incantations. "Now...how did I do this again? Let me just refresh my memory" I heard Chrom place his hand in his palm. "Ah, that should be it. Time to go"

Frederick moved out first, with us close behind, keeping Lissa covered. Unless she planned on bonking the enemy to death she wasn't going to be much use. Besides, she was fragile, as far as I knew. The knight circled round behind the enemy as Chrom and myself moved out, heading to the closest one. He was a swordsman, and as he saw us he quickly grabbed his sword from it's sheath, putting the gold into his sack and running at us.

"Lissa! Hang Back!" Chrom shouted. She slowed down, the enemy swordsman getting close to us. I span my sword in my hand as he came upon us. "Silven!"

"On it!" I called back. The brigand raised his sword high, swinging it down upon us. Chrom lifted his sword up, blocking the blow with a clatter. I quickly moved in, swinging my sword at the bandit's chest. He quickly jumped back, my sword just cutting through the thin air, the enemy landing with a groan.

"Insolent wretches" He called us. Chrom readied his blade once more, holding to his side in one hand.

"The one who is insolent is you" He responded. I quickly jumped back, making sure Chrom was in between me and the enemy. Nice of him not to respond about the wretches part. The bandit held his sword defensively as myself and Chrom kept an eye on him.

We paced around in a circle, staring each other down, the sounds of fights and fires being the only other thing we heard. I felt a twing somewhere inside me, turning to look behind us and seeing an axe wielding brigand charging us, only shouting at the last second. I threw a kick at Chrom, knocking him out of the way and lifting my blade up with both of my hands, the axe smashing into my sword.

I heard Chrom hitting the floor, gritting my teeth as I tried to hold the axe up. The swordsman from before came into the battle, running forward and slashing at me. I tried my best to move, forcing the axe away slightly before moving to the side. The axe hit the ground with a clatter. As I jumped away, I felt burning sensation in my leg, limping a bit as my balance went slightly. I looked down, seeing that he had hit just behind my knee. It wasn't too bad, but it was going to impair me slightly.

"Who sends this girl to fight? Weakling" One of them spoke. I wiped my mouth with the back of my hand, swallowing.

"Silven!" Chrom called, moving next to me, sword ready. "You all right?"

"Flesh wound" I replied. "Which one do you want?" I looked around quickly, seeing Frederick trying to engage a mage, dodging fireballs as he charged in with his lance, spinning it around before attacking for some reason.

"You take the axeman, I'll take the swordman" He replied. I nodded, smiling. "Just make sure to see Lissa after this. I would say get healed now, but I don't want to draw her into the melee" I nodded, Chrom charging back into the fray, his sword swinging at his enemy, drawing the combat further away from me.

I ran towards the axeman, bringing my sword along the ground to cut up through his leg. As I brought the blade up, he jumped back, avoiding the blow altogether. I was caught in the swing as he made a counter attack, but somehow, I used the momentum from my swing to carry me around, bringing my blade up to block his strike. I gritted my teeth again, my leg flaring up in pain. The brigand smiled, bringing his axe to his side to bring his axe around to hit me. I held my hand on the blunt side of my blade as I blocked it, my hand shuddering in pain as the two collided in another dull clang.

"Come on, Girlie!" he shouted, swinging his axe around again, this time swinging from the right to hit my shoulder. I brought the blade up again, grunting as he hit it, my leg buckling slightly. "You can't beat me!" He brought his axe back, this time going for another overhead swing, aiming for my neck.

I have no idea how lucky I got, cause at the precise moment when he would have gotten a good hit on me, my leg went. At that precise moment, I fell to one knee, almost hitting the ground completely as I fell to my right, but I felt the axe barely fly over my head. That was way too close for comfort. He looked the picture of horror as he kept the momentum going, almost tripping himself up as he lost his balance. I picked myself up quickly, jumping back and grabbing my tome.

"Please work, please work" I said to myself quickly and repeatedly. The brigand got back his balance as I spoke, the words just flowing from my mind. I had no idea what I was really saying, it just...came to me. I started waving my free hand in the air in complex patterns, a red seal forming in front of me.

The brigand got the idea of what I was doing, picking himself up quickly and charging at me, axe held in one hand over his shoulder, screaming at the top of his lungs. I eventually stopped waving, a ball of lightning forming in my hand, just like Ruby had in my dream. I looked at the brigand, making my hand into a fist and then throwing the lightning at him, a thunderbolt flying out of my hand and hitting him square in the chest. He pulsed with electricity as it hit him, his body flying into spasms as he tried to get closer. I ended the spell there, jumping back just as he got close enough, the axe flying down at where I had just been, the warrior breathing heavily, smelling charred.

"Don't underestimate me" I told him, letting my tome go to grab my sword. He raised his axe feebly one more time as I started charging him, bringing my sword low with every step resounding around the place. He tried to stand as I got close, my blade denying him, running right through his chest. I followed this up to make sure he was dead, jumping up and spinning behind him, running my blade through the back of his spine. "Or you'll regret it"

He dropped his axe, falling forward and hitting the ground with a thud. I paused for a bit, catching my breath before I moved. This had gone well, easily in fact. I took my normal stance, looking around and seeing Chrom finishing off his opponent with hardly a scratch on him. Frederick was more or less still tangling with the mage. Either he was getting unlucky or just wasn't very good. I wasn't going to judge.

"Silven, you did it!" Lissa called, running over to me. "That was awesome. How did you do that?" I sighed.

"I honestly have no clue" I replied, shaking my head. "Still, took a wound too many there" I pointed to my leg, Lissa smiling.

"Now who says I'm delicate?" She replied, holding her staff in her hands. "I'm the one who stitches you and Chrom up when you get hurt"

She lifted the staff up in the air, closing her eyes. As she did, I was bathed in a green light, feeling...I don't know, calm, relaxed, almost as if I was floating on air. I felt my leg twinge, looking at it and watching the wound...fix itself. That's the only way I can really describe it. I smiled as the light faded, Lissa opening her eyes and seeing my smile.

"Tada! Easy enough to do" She told me. I nodded.

"Thanks Lissa. I owe you one" I did a small bow.

"Don't mention it" Chrom came back to us at this point, swinging his blade to wipe the blood off.

"Are you all right Silven?" He asked, concern evident in his voice. I smiled and nodded, glad he was worried for me. "Don't go rushing into danger without help, all right"

"I'm fine, Chrom. Don't worry about me" He breathed a sigh of relief, motioning for us to move on.

"You've given us your strength, that makes you a friend" I smiled, enjoying the notion that I already had friends in this place. "We can't thank you enough for fighting by our side here"

"It's no problem Chrom" I replied. We got to the bridge ready to secure the church as Frederick rejoined us. "I owe you more for rescuing me, so to speak" Chrom nodded, turning to Frederick.

"Frederick, you and Lissa go and make sure the rest of the town is safe" He told the knight. Frederick did a bow on horseback, the pair splitting off and leaving us to the fight.

As we crossed the bridge, I got a good look at the church, seeing what damage had been done. There was smoke coming from the tower, but otherwise, the stone architecture looked mostly undamaged. A bandit outside the main door was hacking it with his axe, trying to cut his way in.

"Here, sheepy sheepy!" He yelled, swinging his axe once more, the door splintering, but managing to hold. "Come to the slaughter!"

"Try and watch your back!" Chrom yelled. The bandit turned to us, seeing us charging him. He pulled his axe out of the door, counter-charging us, holding his axe in both of his hands, holding it to his side as he ran at us. I watched him, both of us getting our swords ready. I felt something in me ...tell me something...like an inkling. He wasn't going for an upper slice.

"Chrom, block high!" I shouted to him.

We both got our swords ready, the bandit bringing his blade over his head and slamming it down, myself and Chrom catching it on our swords. Chrom barely batted an eyelid, whilst I was straining under the weight of the strike. We both forced the axe back, Chrom making a diagonal swing from his leg upwards as I made a swing at the bandit's chest.

Through some miracle for him, the bandit dodged them both. I got my sword batted out the way by him whilst Chrom's was dodged altogether. He made a swing for me, probably sensing my weakness compared to my ally's. I jumped back out the way, the axe hitting the ground with a clang. He twisted it as Chrom went for a swing, making a swing at the young man's legs. I darted back in, swinging at the axe to try and keep it from hitting him.

Chrom...apparently saw it coming, stopping mid-swing to jump as I jammed the axe with my blade. The bandit must've panicked, looking at Chrom as he got his sword ready for another swing, this time no way to avoid the blow.

Chrom made it count, stabbing his blade into the skull of the bandit, his foe instantly dropping as he pulled the blade out quickly. He swung the blade down to one side, spinning it by the hilt before returning it to the sheath. I lifted my blade up away from the axe, putting it away.

"Rest in peace" I spoke, putting a hand on my chest. Chrom sighed, shaking his head.

"No one will until we can sort these bandits out" He told me, turning around. "Let's meet back up with Lissa and Frederick...we can sort the rest of the town out before we leave"

I nodded, walking alongside him back to the market square. He was stressed, and full of worry, I could tell that at a distance. Whatever was going on here, it was big, and it wasn't just this one occasion. It took a few minutes to find them, as we both helped a few villagers along the way, however, we found Frederick and Lissa, both dealing with a few leftover injuries.

"Well, that's the end of that" I told them, half smiling as we got to them. "This place should be safe now" we were stood in a bit of a clearing, nearby a few small houses with people bringing injured from all over the village.

"The people of Southtown do not deserve this. No one in Ylisse does" Chrom spoke, sighing.

"We'll find a way to deal with it" I told him, smiling. "Just need to find the root of the matter" Chrom's mood fell even fouler, Lissa healing the last wounded civilian.

"Lucky for the town we were close by." Lissa celebrated, smiling as she turned to me, doing an almost ballerina pivot. "But holy wow, Silven! You were incredible!" She almost danced over to me, arms up close to her chest. "Swords, sorcery AND strategy! Is there anything you can't do?" Apparently remember anything beyond my name.

"I might not be able to cook" I joked. She seemed to get it at least, Chrom's mood lightening slightly.

"You're certainly no helpless victim, that much is for sure" Chrom spoke, smiling more then before.

"Indeed." Frederick finally spoke, turning to me, now unmounted. "Perhaps you might even be capable of an explanation for how you came here?" Back to that I see. Well...granted.

"I understand your concerns, Sir Frederick" I spoke, trying my best to not be offensive to him. "And I cannot explain why things such as my knowledge of magic and swordplay is just coming back to me just like that" I snapped my fingers to make my point. "But I assure you...I have nothing left to hide. You know all I know" Chrom put a hand on my shoulder, smiling. I looked at him, scratching the back of my head. It was going to be hard getting used to longer hair...and the breasts...among other things.

"You fought hard to save Ylissean lives" He interjected, taking his hand off my shoulder and putting it on his chest. "My heart says that's enough" I looked away, almost blushing at this point. "I'm thankful we met you when we did"

"And your mind, milord?" Frederick asked, stepping closer to Chrom. "Will you not heed its counsel as well" Chrom gave one of those disarming hand motions, like he was hoping to calm Frederick down.

"Frederick, the Shepherds could use someone with Silven's talents" Well, I do have two considerable talents...get your mind out the trash, at the very least I'm good with swords and magic. "We've brigands and unruly neighbours" Oh, so now I'm getting signed up to keep fighting? "All of them are looking to bloody our soil" Sounds like fun. "Would you really have us lose such an able soldier such as her?" Soldier?

"I'm smarter then that" I told him. They both looked at me as something came back to me. "My talents extend to more then fighting and magic. I know a few tactical things" Where the hell was this coming from? Chrom smiled, Frederick looking even more concerned. "If you want me to display that talent...give me a go next battle...I'll make sure that we make it to victory" Chrom nodded.

"Besides...I believe her story" I for one don't. How in the hell am I meant to believe it myself when I can't really explain half the crap that's happening to me. "Odd as it might be" I think it's a little be more then odd. Wait, did he just? I blushed at this point...something else I'm going to have to get used to, getting embarrassed easier then Craig did.

"Th-Thanks a lot, Chrom" God, I can't believe I'm this bad. Come on, pull it back together Silven.

"So...how about it?" I turned back to Chrom, breathing to take and reduce the blush. "Will you join us, Silven?" I smiled, putting a hand on my chin with the elbow on my other arm.

"I will...At the very least I still owe you for finding me and taking me in" I told him. He held his hand out for me, and I shook it this time.

"Milord, it I may interrupt" Frederick started. We all turned to him, seeing his concerned look. "Did you notice their voices? They spoke with a Plegian accent" Plegian? Plague has a language now.

"Erm...Plegian?" When in doubt, ask about. Better then sitting in the void of denseness. Chrom turned his head to me.

"Plegia is Ylisse's western neighbour, a nation plagued with issues" Chrom explained, sighing. "They send small bands into our territory hoping to instigate a war" That's despicable.

"And it's the poor townsfolk who suffer!" Lissa chipped in, looking upset as ever. "Totally innocent, and totally helpless"

"They do have us, milady: Shepherds to protect the sheep" Frederick began. Well, I guess that's how it works now. I sighed, shaking my head. "Do not be swept up in your anger. It will cloud your judgement"

"That's why it's best to make tactics with a calm mind" I chipped in.

"I know, I know" Lissa replied, sighing, then going into a happy mood. "Don't worry, I'll get used to all this" I smiled.

"Yeah, and I'll get used to not having my memory" I told her. She laughed again, seeing it as a joke. We heard a new set of footsteps walking over to us, everyone turning to it as we saw a villager joining us, doing a small bow.

"Milord, please! You must stay the night!" He told us. I raised an eyebrow, looking around the group. Seems they liked us a lot for this. To be fair, I was tempted to say yes, but thinking about it was more important. "We are simple folk of simple means, but we would gladly toast your valour with a feast" It was tempting, I'd give it that much.

"I've got to leave it to you guys, as I don't want to ruin your plans" I told them, crossing my arms.

"A most generous offer, sir, and no doubt your hospitality would be grand..." Frederick...wait for it... "But I'm afraid we must hurry back to Ylisstol" ….not going to ask. I presume it's a place. Lissa wasn't listening at this point, smiling and overjoyed with the idea.

"Dark meat only for me, medium well and no salt in the soup." Let's wait for the penny to drop. "I simply...Wait. What?!" Ping. "We're not staying?!" It's their choice I'm afraid, dear. "But, Frederick, it's nearly dark!" What's the line I'm looking for...

"Oh relax, things are more fun then you think" I told her. Frederick turned to her, giving an almost evil smile...for him anyway.

"When night falls, we'll camp." He explained. Oh, that sounds like fun actually. I can't wait. "Eat off the land, make our bed of twigs and the like..." Well, I'm already used to dirt and grass. "I believe you mentioned you would be 'getting used to this'?" Gonna give the guy credit, he knows best how to get under her bra, so to speak.

"Frederick? Sometimes I hate you" Ah, Lissa. You'll get used to it.

I shook my head, smiling as I thought of Lissa having to 'suffer' through taking what I saw as a camping trip through the dark. She was shaking her head, almost dropping her head with tears welling up in her eyes. Chrom crossed his arms, sighing, and I found a bit to one side.

"You've quite the stern Lieutenant there" I commented. "Makes me glad that some people don't take this kind of thing too seriously"

"Yeah, well, 'stern' is one name for it." Lissa moaned again, shaking her head. "I can think of a few others!" Got to be honest right now, seeing her like this is making it hard for me not to laugh.

"Frederick only smiles when he's about to bring down the axe" Chrom explained. I checked over his equipment quickly, not seeing anything aside from the lance.

"I'll bear that in mind, especially when making my tactics" Give him an axe and he'll be happy for days. We heard someone clear their throat, turning to Frederick and seeing him looking at us.

"You do realise that I am still present, correct?" Deathly aware. If I forgot it'd be the death of me.

"Oh, we realise" Well, I didn't want to be blunt, but yeah. I couldn't help but laugh, turning away from the group. Frederick sighed at this, more then likely annoyed at us.

"Milord remains as amusing as ever." he shook his head, and if I couldn't sense the sarcasm there, then my sarcasm senses went with my memory. "Now then, shall we be going?" Chrom shook his head, laughing a few more times.

"All right, all right" He turned to me, a smile still on his face. "Ready to go Silven? The capital isn't far" I've been ready to go for a while. I nodded, doing a small bow.

"The more I learn the better, might help me remember" I told him. He put a hand on my shoulder, smiling.

"Frederick, Lissa, let's go"

_Seeing the smiles on the peoples' faces when we finished the brigands was damn well worth it._

_I can't really say that, up to that point, there had been much better._

_The Shepards took me in...and I was part of a family...so to speak_

_Now I just had my work cut out for me._

So, really, if Silven is Sue-ish then...sorry. I have tried to balance her (more so then me and DEFINIETLY more then Ruby) but as for lines...she really can't change what she says until the support conversations. She can change some of the words, but not the meaning if that makes sense. Once I get to the interim stuff, then you'll see more of who Silven is.

By the way...I don't think I can safely maintain multiple chapter uploads in such a short space of time. if it's done and it works out, then I'll do it, but I can't keep throwing two or three up each time. (don't want to spam your mailboxes) and I can slow down a bit and work on the quality.


	6. So Welcome

So, we move on to post Prologue, where Southtown lies...oddly enough to the south. Oh, by the way, onr thing I feel I should bring up.

I've had characters doing effects that you don't get in game from the magic. (case in point: punching with lightning) now, I've had people in the past question this sort of thing when I've done it, but the logic behind it is that the spell is just a strength kind of thing. it's up to the arcanist as so what to do with it. An example is a fire spell: standard fireball, ring of fire, light, etc. the great thing about magic when it's not given an exact idea.

_Chapter 3:_

_So welcome_

_As dark as it was getting, we were still walking._

_Chrom was determined to make it to Ylisstol before the day was out._

_I wasn't the smartest tool in the shed right now, but I was starting to think we couldn't_

_Especially given that the sun was starting to fade._

I don't know how long we had really been walking. Two, maybe three hours, if that short a period. All I did know was that we were heading north, Chrom was happier now that Lissa was talking to him about the day we had had and things that had generally happened in the past between the two. I kept hearing Frederick's horse as he kept near me, a hand on his lance, the other on the reins as he walked. Couldn't say I blame him, but had I done anything to be distrusted right now?

We were still on the dirt track, heading along the grassy plains. I'll give Ylisse credit, it was beautiful. Whatever was really going on, then it's a sad thing it's happening to this place of anywhere. Saying that, I apparently picked a good place to get knocked out cold. Not just for the fact that I met Chrom and company.

The sun finally decided to set...I didn't have to think about it to realise travel at night wasn't safe at all, especially with a bandit problem ongoing. Lissa threw her arms down by her sides, still walking.

"I told you" She seemed to enjoy telling Chrom. "It's getting dark already" Is someone afraid of the dark? We all looked at her, seeing her sighing, then proceeding to swat bugs out of her way. "Ech! And the bugs are out!" I sighed, putting a hand to my forehead and shaking my head. Can she whine any more? "Noisy disgusting bugs that buzz around-" She stopped swatting, shaking her head. "And crawl all over and bite you when-"

I could literally see the moment when it happened. She opened her mouth to say the next word, then catching a bug in her mouth. She spluttered and coughed, with her hands moving to her mouth. She stopped, causing us all to do the same, and I resisted an urge to laugh. Chrom didn't. He chuckled.

""Agh! Won goph in mah mouph!" She garbled. I shook my head again, watching as she tried to spit the bug out.

"Aw, come on now, Lissa" Chrom began, putting a hand on Lissa's shoulder as she tried to get the bug out. "Hardship builds character" So does that mean that I'll be a more developed character for the bards when they sing of this journey? Not likely. "Want to help me gather firewood? We'll settle down once the fires up" She kept spitting, eventually making a disgusting sound and grimacing.

"...I think I swallowed it..." She replied. I looked to Frederick, seeing him trying his best to hold a straight face after a bit of annoyance. "I'll pass on finding firewood, thanks" Now who's having a hissy fit? "I think I've built QUITE enough character for one day!" Day's not over yet Lissa. Still got a few hours to go. I heard my stomach rumbling, looking down and putting a hand on it, blushing again...God I blush at the most simple of things.

"We might do well to find some food as well. Something tells me I might be a tiny bit hungry" I told them. Chrom nodded, as did Frederick.

"Yes. I should think a little hunting and gathering is in order" The knight told us, smiling. "Now, who wants to clear a camp site?" Chrom nodded.

"If you two go hunting, I'll sort out the camp with Lissa" He told us. I nodded, turning to the knight. "Take care of her, Frederick" The knight nodded, doing a small bow.

"Of course, Milord. We shall be back with some food soon" Frederick replied, mounting up quickly. "Come, Miss Silven" I nodded, avoiding the note of hostility in his voice as he started to trot away.

We headed away from Chrom and Lissa, moving what I thought was generally westerly. Probably a bad idea to be heading towards the neighbour we had a dispute with. I kept looking around, sword drawn ready for just about anything. Frederick kept his lance in hand, focusing on the task at hand, forcing me to jog to keep up.

It didn't take a genius to note an atmosphere in the air. As much as I wanted him to, Frederick wouldn't trust me like Chrom and Lissa have. It would take a lot more then just one day to get in his good books. I sighed, Frederick turning his head to me as I did so.

"Is everything fine, Miss Silven?" He asked. I looked at him, then stretching my arms.

"It is, Sir" I told him, looking away. "It's just...a lot of things" Not exactly true...but not exactly false. Frederick slowed his mount, letting me just walk alongside him.

"Your lost memories per chance?" I sighed again, nodding. "If it is any consolation to you, Miss, I have neither heard nor read of the Eradora family among the nobles" That...oddly is. Least I know I'm not high born. "Whilst I would not presume to know the latest reports, there have been no reports of kidnap, nor of anyone missing from Ylisstol in the past week" That didn't. I looked down, trying to hide my sullen feelings.

"Frederick..." I start, wanting to tell him to be quiet at this point.

"Be thankful Milord is as kind as he is. When you get to the capital, You can find out about your family, hopefully they are looking for you" ….That was...better, again. Now how does he want to oppose this. But saying that, he seemed almost...happy at the idea of me going home. I sighed again.

"Thanks...I think" I told him.

There was...pretty much silence between us as we got to a section of woodland, about...10 or so minutes after the conversation. I had started to work my magic, keeping a ball of lightning in my hand for light. Frederick never spoke it, but I'm pretty sure he was happy with the good few feet of light all around us.

Eventually, Frederick stopped, holding his lance in front of me to stop me. I looked at him, seeing him concentrating on something ahead of us. I looked as well, seeing a black mass not to far away. I could see the knight smiling, spinning his lance in his hand.

"What do you say to a little training?" Frederick asked me, getting ready. "Anything to keep your edge is good" I half smiled, spinning my sword in my hand.

"Feel free, I've got to maintain the spell haven't I?" I replied.

"It wasn't that type of practice, Miss Silven" I looked at the thing, seeing it turn around. It was a black bear. Plenty of meat on those bones. "Night fighting. We will not always be in combat in the day or in good conditions" I smiled, seeing the benefits.

I shut off the spell, letting my eyes adjust to the darkness quickly. The moon was full so it wasn't too dark, but we were hunting a black bear. I sighed, flipping my sword around in my hands. Frederick charged forwards, bringing his lance around as he rode up to the beast.

He brought the lance down, cutting at the beast's hide, the bear roaring in pain, then trying to swat at the horse. Frederick easier rode out of the way, urging his horse around to go for another run by. I started to get closer, chanting the incantation once more to get the lightning around my hand, sparks cracking all around it, at times my hand shaking from the currents.

I waited for Frederick, letting him do his ride by again, watching him dig the lance into the body of the beast, another growl as he got out of the way. I waited, the bear watching Frederick ride out the way, running to the opposite side of me. I jumped in, slamming my electrical fist into the back of the beast, letting it disperse into it.

It roared loudly, spinning around to try and swat at me. I brought my blade up, blocking it's brutal claws, my blade getting swatted away, but giving me time to jump back. Frederick did his attack once more, only this time making it count more then ever, crying out as he swing the lance down upon the creature's skull.

I could see the lights fade from it's eyes as Frederick passed me, it's legs giving way beneath it, landing with a dull thud, throwing up dust as well. I smiled, putting my sword away as Frederick stopped his horse behind me, a neigh issuing behind me. I heard a bit of a laugh, the horse walking towards me.

"A simple foray, but essential to keeping the skills sharp" He told me, stopping next to me and dismounting. "But with that comes skills that we must use to survive in the wilds" He pulled a dagger from his belt, kneeling next to the beast. I looked away, swallowing. "Distaste for blood?"

"Ironic when you consider what I do" I told him. I heard a sort of a chuckle.

"Not really" I turned to Frederick as he said this, seeing him having not even commenced the act. "Killing someone in battle is not the same as hunting or blunt murder" I looked down and away, sighing.

"Just get it over with" This was starting to seem like a lecture over a helping hand.

You don't really want to know the gruesome details...I don't want to remember the gruesome details. Suffice to say Frederick skinned and practically dismembered the beast for me, getting a few shanks and leaving the rest for the wolves. We packed it into...I don't know, some sort of carrier. I couldn't really name it due to not looking at the dismembered pieces. Frederick seemed to find it entertaining at times...might see how he likes being shocked by a few currents.

It took us a while due to carrying a heavier load and going slower, but it was generally more enjoyable, just to be able to enjoy the night winds and what scenery I could make out in the night. We saw a camp fire in the distance, Chrom and Lissa sitting down and relaxing next to it. The brother was the first to see us, standing up.

"Did you have any luck?" He asked us. Frederick smiled, doing a small bow as I cancelled my magic, dispersing the light.

"Milord, I hope you like bear"

_It was weird to me...hating the sight of blood when I get stuck in the melee as often as I do._

_But I think in a way...it made sure I was still who I was, sure I was human._

_Hell, I was a human who knew spells. If not for my memories being...misplaced..._

_I'd think I was more then that..._


	7. The Storm

Moving Merrily onwards, this chapter is a long one. Not only do I deal with Frederick and the MU during a cinematic where a lot generally happens (yes, my second divergence :D in a sense) but also where...I'm worried. You'll see later on, but considering all that happens during the FMV...yeah...you'll see when you get there. Sorry if Silven's Mary

_Chapter 4_

_The Storm_

_Some of the best memories you make come from the most unlikely of places._

_Mixed together with the worst of course, but that's besides the point._

_Sometimes it takes the simplest of things to do so._

_Others...others are simply caused by life taking it's course._

There are many things that have surprised me already coming here. The kindness of strangers, magic, my lack of memories or indeed my memories not being my own. But the one thing that surprised me straight from the off, and this might catch a lot of people off considering, is one simple thing.

Bear meat is delicious.

Why didn't I try this before? Or have I? Hmm...guess that's why lack of memories really hurts. And something else to add in is my lack of knowledge of my medical history. Who knows, I might be allergic to cuteness. I might actually be the bearer of a virus that will eventually kill me when it finds my DNA code but will also kill those around me as targeting said code becomes less of a priority...like that'll happen.

I was eating my way through my shank, the many logs Chrom and Lissa had gathered were blazing away in the centre, proving an easy light for us. Not only would it keep creatures of the night away, but there's also the idea of being able to fight any kind of bandits that come to the camp. Chrom had finished eating, with Lissa taking tentative bites, Frederick just slowly eating, we were all, generally, relaxing around the fire.

"It's been too long since I last had bear meat." Chrom spoke, leaning back. "Delicious! Might need to hunt it more" He looked over to Lissa, seeing her looking disgruntled with remnants of her shank. "What's wrong, Lissa? Dig in. You were hungry right?"

"I'll pass!" She shouted, still holding the food in her hands but shaking her head. "Gods, why couldn't you just spear an animal NORMAL people eat for once" She sighed, looking over at Frederick. "I mean, COME ON! Who eats bear!? You're meddling with the food chain. We could've been eating pork right now" She was whining...what did I care? I was eating merrily. Lissa turned to me. "Ladies like us need proper food, right Silven?" She then noted how much I was into the food, raising an eyebrow, confused. "Uh...Silven?"

I think I must have confused everyone at this point, as I really did just ignore her, eating my bear. Lissa sighed, Chrom and Frederick both shaking their head's, Chrom laughing slightly. Did I care? Nope.

"Looks like your argument just got flawed" Chrom told Lissa. There was another sigh from the girl, shaking her head.

"I suppose a person would enjoy just about anything after not eating for days..." If you don't want it lass, I'll have it.

"Just eat it, Lissa. Meat is Meat" and is neat and a treat. Lissa started throwing another hissy fit.

"SINCE WHEN DOES MEAT SMELL LIKE OLD BOOTS!?" It's not our fault, blame Frederick for his cooking. She sniffed it twice, then recoiling and waving the smell away. "Wait, I take that back-Boots smell better!" I swallowed the bit of meat I was eating, stopping to look at her.

"Every experience makes you stronger, milady" Frederick told her. I had to agree, to an extent. "Even those we don't enjoy" Was he talking to more then her? Lissa turned to him, looking mortified.

"Really? Then why don't I see YOU eating, Frederick?" I looked over to him, seeing most of it left. Frederick pointed to his chest, a worried look on his face.

"Me? Oh, well...I'm not hungry" He quickly went over in his head for a quick excuse. "I...I had a large lunch! Yes...quite" I don't even know before midday and I know your lying.

"Yeah right, Frederick"

"If you two want, I can eat your shares" I told them, finishing my section off. They both looked at me like I was some sort of mad woman...well, not surprised at that bit.

"Lissa's a growing girl...and Frederick is meant to be a knight. They'll get through them" Chrom told me, smiling. "Besides, it'll be the last meal before we get to Ylisstol. Need to keep your strength up" Lissa seemed to take the message at this point, digging in, but taking her time in protest. Frederick just manned up and ate whatever he could. "Works every time" I smiled, laughing a bit at this.

"You sure know how to motivate them" He looked over at me, nodding.

"When you work with your sister and your lieutenant, you have to learn a few things" I put the bone down, leaving it for the wolves. "It's good to know you're not as fussy as they are though...have you ever had bear in the past?" I raised an eyebrow, sighing.

"I don't know...but I like it right now" He looked away, realising what he had said.

"Ah...sorry...It's just at times it seems like you're a normal woman" You're not helping your case here Chrom.

"I am, remember?" He looked back at me, sighing as he nodded. "All that's different is the memory" He nodded again. "Well...unless you count some of the stuff I do as out of the norm"

"Granted, falling asleep in a field isn't normal" He was joking at this point. I can't fault him, it was good if it wasn't so...annoying.

"Miss Silven, as far as I have seen in my years of service, I have not seen one who mixes spells with swordplay" Frederick chipped in. I sighed, looking into the flames. "It is safe to assume you're anomalous. In more ways then one"

"Well, what if I ask something to change the subject to something less strange" Everyone turned to me at this point, wondering what I was going to say. "What's Ylisstol like? Is it anything like Southtown, but...well, bigger?" Lissa perked up at this, almost excited at the subject.

"Ylisstol is amazing!" She almost yelled. Frederick ended up having to shush her. "It's the biggest city in Ylisse with the best merchants, the best blacksmiths and the biggest market on the continent. You can get the best dresses, best hair accessories, best-"

"Basically, you can get a lot from just Ylisse. We even get imports from the Northern Realms if you want good quality weapons and armour seeing as Ylisse is known more for peace" Chrom explained...OK, isn't being known for peace almost like being known for just not fighting? 'Guys, we're charging your ranks' then before we hit the line we apologise en masse "However, thanks to bandit issues of late, things have gotten hard for the people. In Ylisstol and otherwise" I can understand that...hell, any bandit issue would cause that.

"Speaking of Bandits, Milord. How shall we divide up the night watch?" Frederick asked. His horse had settled down in the background. Chrom and myself turned to him, nodding a few times.

"Ah, that's a good point. We don't want to get attacked in the middle of the night and not be killed without a fight" He looked between us, quickly gauging in his mind what to do. "I'll take first watch. At the very least it'll give you two a bit of a break. Especially as Silven needs her rest"

"And why would that be?" I asked him. He turned back to me, holding his serious look.

"It's out of concern...Maybe rest would help you get your memory back" I looked away and sighed. He had a point. Right now anything might be the trigger that gets my memory back, and the sooner that happened the sooner I could piece together what happened to me. And then there's even why I have this...weird thing that I'm someone else. "Don't worry, Silven. You'll be alright with us"

"The question is if we will be safe in her company, milord" Frederick chipped in. We both turned to him, seeing him with his arms folded. "Do you feel as though we should even consider her for one of the watches tonight?"

"I do Frederick" Chrom replied, smiling. "Even if she was out to kill me or Lissa, she'd be alone tonight. I doubt bandits would turn down the opportunity for selling slaves or prostitutes, regardless of how many she takes before they take her" I blushed. I was getting half complimented here. Not something I'm altogether used to, apparently. "If she does take second watch, then you'll be more ready in case of anything" Frederick nodded. I'm...guessing he's more alert then most of us during the night. Then again, guess he'd have to be. "You can take third, Frederick. At the very least you'll be ready to go" He nodded again, Lissa already starting to lay down to get some sleep. I sighed, shaking my head as I backed up away from the fire slightly.

Chrom took his position near the flame, relaxing, taking the blade out of it's sheath and impaling it into the earth. He was serious about this, that much was good. I took the sheath off my waist, putting it down on the ground next to me and untying the book from it's sling and using it as a makeshift pillow.

"In case I don't see you before you fall asleep" I spoke, Chrom turning towards me as I spoke. "Good night...and good luck" He smiled and nodded.

"Thanks...and good night" He replied. I put my head on the book, sighing one last time before I closed my eyes, sleep quickly taking me.

"Miss Silven" I woke with a start, my eyes flying open to look at Frederick, his face full of concern. I rubbed my head, yawning.

"Frederick...You're not meant to be up for your watch yet" I told him. He nodded, his face not changing, I knew something was up. "What's wrong?"

"Milord and Milady...where are they?" I blinked twice, pushing myself so that I sat up, yawning once more as I looked over where Chrom and Lissa should have been, seeing only marks in the dirt.

"I thought they were..." I stood up, grabbing my equipment as I did so.

I paused, something in the air as I got my equipment on. It didn't feel right...but it felt too familiar. I looked around again, seeing no one around aside from myself and Frederick. But there was this...feeling...something was around. I knew it, I just couldn't see it. Frederick mounted up, I heard the horse behind me whine as it didn't want to be worked at this time. I quickly summoned up a lightning spell for light, using my free hand to pass Frederick a log from the fire, even though it was just dying out. He nodded, taking it from me and riding slightly ahead, at a pace I could walk to, before stopping.

I quickly checked the ground, running my hand over it to try and find tracks of any kind. I looked between several patches, seeing them start to walk away from the camp in a pair. It didn't look distressed, more...calm...I couldn't really explain it. Maybe Chrom had the same feeling as me. I got a general idea of the way they were going, nodding a few times.

"Follow me" I told him, following the trail, keeping the light going. Frederick cautiously followed, keeping his hand low in order to be ready to grab his lance. I sighed at this, almost worried that he thought I was leading him into a trap. If it was a trap, I'm leading myself into it. I drew my sword though, not wanting to be caught unawares at any point.

This was too weird...too familiar. We kept moving but my mind just kept going to what this felt like. It was too dark, too quiet. Even the birds and crickets had fallen silent. Something was amiss, and there was too much to think about.

"Frederick" I spoke, stopping. Frederick rode up alongside me, looking me in the eye. "Get ready" He grabbed his lance, gripping it tightly.

"What is wrong, Miss Silven?" He asked. I looked at him, gripping the hilt of my sword tighter.

"I don't know...it's too quiet"

Suddenly, a massive tremor hit us, the ground shaking violently as Frederick's horse bucked constantly. I fought to keep my balance, moving my feet apart as the earth groaned. I looked around at the same time, wondering what the heck was causing this...mess.

"By the Gods!" I commented, Frederick managing to calm his horse slightly. It was still agitated, I couldn't really blame it...so were we. "Frederick, I suggest we stick together!"

"Couldn't agree more Miss Silven!" I going to strangle him for that soon.

Trees from the woods nearby started rustling, Frederick's face filling with panic as I looked on in shock. Suddenly, He grabbed me quickly, dragging me onto the back of his horse in a hasty fashion, almost literally throwing me on. I didn't complain, only groaning as he urged his horse on, turning and seeing why he was so hasty in what he had done.

The earth we had been standing on had split, a huge section of it rising, throwing lava out to follow us. I gasped, moving quickly to get comfortable on the back. Frederick kept riding into the woods, trying to outrun the lava chasing us.

"Apologies for the treatment my lady!" He shouted to me, huge boulders of fire crashing down around us, giving off an almost inconceivable heat. "But I feel the urgency more then accounts for it!"

"Shut up and Ride damn it!" I yelled into his ear, turning and looking behind us, seeing the amount behind us. Frederick urged his horse on continuously, fighting to keep it's speed going as the lava chased us. I looked up, seeing massive fireballs flying towards us, almost hundreds of them. "This isn't good!"

"My Lady! If you could, buy us time! I know a place to keep us safe from the Lava! We've just got to get there!" Frederick yelled back.

I sighed, shaking my head as I did my best to turn around on it's back, Frederick putting the lance to one side to help me, doing his best not to touch my breasts as he did so. He moved forward slightly, giving me room to sit on the saddle.

"This had better work!" I shouted, charging up spells in both of my hands, mumbling the incantations as I made a fist, the sparks flying around the pair as they gained power. I finished the spell, looking up and seeing a massive fireball flying towards us, Frederick doing what he could to dodge it, throwing me to one side as I threw a lightning bolt at it, watching the bolt collide, forcing it to split into fragments, scattering around us. Frederick skilfully guided his horse around the fragments, talking to his horse as he did so.

I quickly scanned the skies, occasionally finding my vision blocked by trees. I got my second hand ready, finding another fireball coming dangerously close, sweat forming on my brow as I threw a spell out. This one collided with a tree branch, setting the wood on fire. Shit, I need to get this straight. I charged up another spell, getting ready to throw it out, then the horse turning sharply, almost throwing me off as it did so. My spell crashed to the ground, blasting some earth up as it did so.

"Warn me next time!" I yelled at Frederick, fighting to get back into the saddle. Frederick turned his head to me, taking a hand off the reins to pull me back up.

"My sincere apologies, Miss Silven!" He shouted back. Even now he seemed too calm. It was like he knew EXACTLY what to do. "Unfortunately I didn't know I was turning myself until the last minute!"

"Well Grab me then!" I tried to refocus, looking around quickly and trying to find something to slow the lava down. Only thing I could really do was...

Silven, you're an accidental genius!

I charged a pair of spells up, changing the incantations to make them last longer then normal. I put my hands together, closing my eyes as I tried to blot out everything going on. Come on Silven, make this quick, quicker then normal. Think of the practice this is worth. I finished the incantation, reopening my eyes and seeing the sparks flying between the pair with a lot more resolve.

I threw my hands forward, aiming at the earth and releasing the sparks, a long trail of electricity flying out and hitting the ground, throwing dirt up. I quickly cut a shallow trench through the ground, focusing as the multiple spells over a short period began taking it's toll on me, my breath getting heavier. The lava entered the trench, slowing down as it hit the upward slope on the other side. That could buy us only a small amount of time. I took a hand away, letting the spell weaken but maintaining it, forcing myself to get a quick bolt ready, seeing more fireballs flying at us.

I brought my arm back, throwing out the lightning bolt at the fireball, seeing it scatter once more, the fragments crashing around us. I looked at the lava once more, seeing it now trailing a good deal behind us as I kept making the trenches. Sweat now falling from me in droves as I tried to focus on the job.

"How much further, Frederick?!" I asked, my breath getting shallow. Frederick was barely fazed by this point.

"Not too far! Just to the top of this hill!" I looked towards the hill, seeing that it wasn't that much further. "Be ready for a jump!" That doesn't raise my hopes. I turned back to the job at hand, swallowing back my worries and fighting to keep going.

I'm going to need one hell of a break after this. If the consistent spell didn't do me in, the rapid fire would. I looked up, seeing another fireball flying towards us, gasping, it was getting way too close for comfort. I looked down at the lava, seeing space enough for me to stop the continuous spells, cancelling them and starting a new one up quickly, going over the normal incantations as I aimed, gritting my teeth as I watched it.

Come on Silven, come on come on come on come on!

I felt the lightning around my hand, crying out as I threw the bolt at the fireball, watching it fly true and striking the centre, blasting it into many pieces. I was breathing so heavily as it flew around, fragments impacting the earth with a shuddering thud as they did. I slumped forward slightly, my strength having left my body. Wow...Magic wears you out quickly. I should have known that...so why didn't I? My memory normally just...pinged into place for this sort of thing.

"Hold on!" Frederick called. I turned, seeing a trench almost naturally dug into the hillside, deep enough to hold whatever flows would come. Frederick urged the horse on some more, lowering himself into the saddle. I put an arm around his, trying my best to hold on.

He got to the edge, his horse jumping before I managed to secure myself. Frederick held onto the reins with everything he had, I quickly threw another spell out, hitting a fireball heading near us. I quickly grabbed him with that hand, feeling my body leave the saddle. We barely cleared the gap as I fell out, hitting the ground roughly, rolling around the ground, dirt flying all over as I slowly came to a stop. Frederick called his horse to a stop as I fought to get to my feet, barely getting to my hands and knees before I couldn't get any further, my breath just...not there. I was so mentally and physically fatigued.

"Are you going to be OK, Miss Silven?" He asked, the heat behind us now blaring away as I tried to catch my breath, by body barely moving as I put my sword away.

"I've...been worse" I replied, or at least tried to. "Just give me...a couple minutes" He half smiled, patting my shoulder.

"My apologies for putting you under so much stress" I looked up at him, seeing him preparing his horse to move once more.

"Yeah...thanks for your concern" I didn't say it, but I kinda meant it sarcastically. "That and...it's not everyday...the ground tries to kill you" He put the lance away, grabbing the reins and leading the horse over. What, does that horse mean more then a life to him?

"It might be wiser if you were to rest on the back of my horse" wait, wha? "That looks like it took it's toll upon you" You're saying that to me when I was doing around three quarters of the work. He held a hand out for me to grab, smiling. I looked at his face, trying to gauge what the hell he was on.

"Thought you didn't trust me" I commented, taking his hand. He lifted my up, carrying me bridal style over to the horse.

"There are times when trust should not affect those around you" He replied, placing me on the saddle. "This is one of those times" I just sat there, trying to recover from this...mess as he walked around, putting his hands on the reins to lead the horse.

"So...you still don't trust me"

"If I may be blunt, Miss Silven, you might never gain my trust. There is nothing I know about you and nothing you have told us that can help me do so" He started walking, leading the horse around as he seemed to have a goal in mind. I'm not going to lie, that hurt. Wouldn't you be if it happened to you? "However...so far you have proven to be a good person. I will entertain the idea that you may be trustworthy at some time in the future, but my station demands that I be wary of you" I sighed again, shaking my head.

"I...appreciate your honesty" Well, not the right word, but at least he wasn't beating around the bush.

"For now, We must search for milord and milady. I would rather you rest so that you can help in future rather then have you fall unconscious from overwork" Again, gotta appreciate the honesty. "Let me know when you have recovered sufficiently, I'm sure Electra would rather not bear you constantly" THATS what you name her? Him? WHATEVER! I sighed, shaking my head again, breathing to begin trying to get my focus back.

"Thanks...I guess"

_Back then I didn't know what that event would entail_

_I hadn't seen anything to that scale before...Well, with Craig I mean...but still_

_maybe it was a one off, maybe it was something new. I didn't know. It could have been normal._

_Still, if it is...I'm going to be so worn out from overuse of magic...least I can keep my mind active_

So yeah...worried about this considering. But they had to be doing something. I get it's...bigger then what Chrom and Lissa get, but that'll be kind of resolved considering they meet 'Marth' and fight before meeting back with Frederick and the MU.

Or Maybe I'm just Sueing her. If I am sorry. Just please, let me know. I will go back and edit this SO MUCH to fix it. (people reading this who don't know me won't know what I mean, but I refuse to let this be another Heroes ally. (and if you know what I'm talking about then you DEFINITELY know what I'm talking about))


End file.
